Early Mets Slumps: Which three are cause for some concern?

We can’t hit the panic button on the 2021 New York Mets quite yet. No. Absolutely not. Get your finger away from there. No matter how bad things may feel after each loss, it’s early April. This is a 162-game schedule. Even the best teams lose 60+ times.

As sports fans, it can be hard to look at things realistically. In the moment, every strikeout feels like the end of the world. A hitless game from the cleanup hitter suggests it’s time to demote him. One bad play in the field and the guy should go to the bench.

Part of being a fan is being fanatical. Early season slumps can be some cause for concern. And these three Mets slumping early in 2021 are beginning to make me worried.

Mets slumper Michael Conforto has had a more productive elbow than bat

The annual Michael Conforto slump may have arrived earlier than expected in 2021. Through five games, he’s hitting .143/.250/.190. He leads the team with eight strikeouts and has managed to draw a single walk.

Conforto is one of the streakier Mets on the team. From day-to-day, we never seem to know what we’ll get. In many ways, he’s the box of chocolates on this team.

The big question you may be wondering is why there should be concern for Conforto this early in the season. Well, there are two major reasons. His contract could certainly be a distraction. For the first time in his professional career, he’s playing for a lot of money.

Secondly, and more importantly, perhaps last year’s success in several categories was a fluke. Conforto came into this season as a lifetime .259/.358/.484 hitter. He was much better in the shortened 2020 campaign in just about every way possible. He hit over .300 for the first time and reached base at a clip of over .400.

Expecting a repeat of this from Conforto in 2021 set the bar a little too high. While we should still count on him to perform at least near his career numbers, an early concern could be that this might be one of those seasons where his career totals take a dip.